NASARAWA GOVT ORDERS EVACUATION FROM FLOOD-PRONE AREAS AFTER NIMET ALERT

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Nasarawa State Government has issued a fresh warning to residents living in riverine and flood-prone areas to evacuate immediately in light of an impending flood threat.

This follows a recent alert from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), which listed Nasarawa among 19 states including Sokoto and Lagos likely to experience heavy flooding in July 2025 due to increased rainfall.

The Director General of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA), Benjamin Akwash, gave the warning during a press briefing on Wednesday in Lafia, the state capital.

“We are reiterating what we told them during the early warning sensitisation to evacuate from flood risk areas,” Akwash said. “We are specifically appealing to riverine communities to move to higher ground. Natural disasters do not give a date or time.”

He urged residents to place their safety above attachment to ancestral homes, warning that ignoring the alert could result in loss of lives, property, and livelihoods.

To enhance preparedness, Akwash disclosed that NASEMA is inspecting previously distributed speedboats and canoes in four high-risk local government areas. “If they are not in good condition, we will hastily reactivate them in readiness for the alert,” he said.

He also warned against illegal dumping of refuse in drainage systems and the construction of buildings on waterways, noting that such practices worsen flood impacts.

“We must take this warning seriously and act now to mitigate the potential devastation,” Akwash stressed.